The moral of the fable "The Lion and the Fox" of Tolstoy and its possible interpretations: Aesop, MA Bulgakov and Dr. House

When a person hears the word "fable", then he remembers IA Krylov, Lafontaine, Aesop, but rarely does anyone think about the giant of Russian prose, L.N. Tolstoy, and yet he showed himself in this genre too. In this article, the moral of the fable "The Lion and the Fox" by Tolstoy will be analyzed in detail.

Plot

There was a Lion, and then he grew old and could no longer hunt animals as before. But he did not despair and decided to continue to get his food not by force, but by cunning. He lay down in a cave, pretended to be sick, and called for various animals (edible, of course) to visit so that they would see him. The animals entered the cave and did not return back home. Once upon a light to the Lion Fox looked, but she was smarter than other animals. The wolf in the Russian fairy tales stopped at the entrance to the cave where the "sick" Leo was lying, when he asked why she did not go to his apartment, Lisa answered like this: "That's why I do not go in the footsteps - there are many entrances, but exits no". Such is the story, and the morality of the fable "The Leo and the Fox" by Leo Tolstoy follows. It is more prominently displayed in the process of comparison with the original Aesop.

Difficulties of translation. Aesop and Leo Tolstoy

The ancient Greek has the same story, but he has the last phrase of Lisa: "And she would come in if she did not see that there are many leads to the cave of tracks, and not a single one from the cave."

Aesop's morality is the fable of "The Lion and the Fox" only in that an intelligent person can bypass any trick. Tolstoy, when he translated this fable, somewhat changed the ending. The word "trace" refers to the imprint left by a person or beast, a very specific object. When the Fox in Leo Nikolayevich says: "There are many inputs, but there is no way out," then there is already something existential in this, as if the Fox is broadcasting on behalf of the author and makes a verdict to all that exists. Here such a different interpretation can be obtained in the theme "The moral of the fable" The Lion and the Fox ", if you analyze only the last words of the Fox from Aesop and Leo Tolstoy.

MA Bulgakov and the covenant: "Never ask anything from those who are above you"

We go further and we plunge deeper into the sphere of pure, not scientific, but literary fiction. If MA Bulgakov could publicly reflect on the moral meaning of Leo Tolstoy's fable, the following would happen: the creator of the "Master" would, of course, immediately make a fox (and rather, he would have a Fox) personification of a creative person, And Leo, of course, is the personification of power. And on the basis of this not too complicated model it is possible to read the morality of Tolstoy's fable "The Lion and the Fox" completely differently than the inhabitant of Yasnaya Polyana wanted when he read it to peasant children in his own school created by him. Bulgakov would say: a creative person should be afraid of power and keep away from it at a respectful distance. Talk with her should be so as not to hurt her in any way and in no case to show her superiority, neither intellectual nor moral. Life, yes? Such is the reading and interpretation of the theme "Morality of the Fable" Leo and the Fox "by Tolstoy" in the style of MA Bulgakov. It is worth mentioning that the author of the "Dog Heart" himself secretly hoped that his authority would notice and be beneficent. But all the same, as a reasonable man and extremely shrewd, he still chose for himself as the main strategy of behavior with the authorities with caution, and was completely right, because give or not give gifts - is unknown, but they can crush in just a minute easily .

Classes and Modernity

Are the instructions of the Greek and Russian classics modern? Of course, yes, moreover, and that interpretation of Bulgakov's views, which is given in this article, is also relevant. The principles of state structure are still the same on Russian soil as 80 years ago, although the political climate is much milder. And we even have freedom of speech now, but it is still better not to flirt with the authorities and blindly distrust it - swallow it at one point on occasion.

If we return to the main character of the narrative and his moral message, the morality of the fable "The Leo and the Fox" of Tolstoy is still relevant: the child is still not bad to know that if he studies well, he will be able to recognize any cunning and brilliantly respond to it . It's good that he learns: any power can be answered with cunning, and now the strong one is weak, and the weak one is strong. Hence it follows: no matter how strong a person is, he still has to learn.

Dr. House: "Everybody lies," and "People do not change"

Finally, the interpretation of one of the "heroes of our time", the modern "Sherlock Holmes" from medicine - Dr. House. If he were asked to answer the question, what is the moral of the fable "The Lion and the Fox" by Tolstoy? He would have said in his cynical-ironic style: it is that people (and animals) do not change, and everyone keeps lying unceasingly. So, Leo can not be trusted. Accordingly, Fox did everything right. And of course, the best fictitious diagnostician in the world would not leave Leo without diagnosis and treatment. In the final of the story, Leo could run and kill animals as usual. This was the result of the presentation of the theme "Morality of the fable" The Lion and the Fox "in his own words.